Mastermind behind DS' wargame Glory Days 2 reveals victory plan

When Glory Days 2 – Brotherhood of Men was first announced, we got a bit confused. What sort of game was it and how did the proposed 3D glasses mode fit in?

Thankfully game director Olivier Denis of development studio ODenis has provided us with some answers.

"It's an action strategy game, where players pilot aircraft in a side-scrolling perspective," Denis tell us. "You must also form an army and charge forward to take over the enemy's base on the other side of the map."

So that's the basics cleared up. Total warfare: win the air battle, send in ground units to achieve victory.

In terms of the aircraft you have direct control over, you can choose between plane, helicopter or, for those with suicidal tendencies, a V2 rocket. Control is carried out either via the D-pad or touchscreen.

Ground forces are bought with the cash you get at the start of each level. You can also earn extra readies by capturing enemy bunkers and saving civilians.

"You can save them with your helicopter or you can create an ambulance," explains Denis. "But be careful, if an ambulance is destroyed, a resource penalty is immediately given to the enemy."

Other build options include tanks, artillery, jeeps, supply trucks, and the troops required to capture bunkers.

The various attributes of each units – offensive power, speed and armour – increases as the game progresses. "Jeeps only fire basic missiles at the beginning of the campaign, but at the end, they might be able to lock on aircraft with heat-seeking missiles," Denis warns.

As for the comparison with Nintendo's Advance Wars: Dual Strike, he says Glory Days 2 is a different experience.

"This is a real-time action and strategy game. It's more immediate. In less than one minute, you can deploy your army, save civilians, capture your first bunker and fire missiles at your enemies," Denis says.

"Only constant attention to what occurs on the battlefields will give you victory, as a situation can quickly change. Equally you can win either because you fly well, or because you are a good strategist."

On the subject of those 3D glasses, however, we're still not entirely sure what the point is.

"It's optional," says Denis. "The glasses are included with the game but you won't have to wear them."

What they will add, he reckons, is extra, ahem, depth.

"They don't use the famous red/green system that many will know about, so they aren't as destructive in terms of other colours. They will increase your depth perception of the backgrounds using certain neurological aspects to trick the brain," he enthuses.

Eight special 3D-enabling backgrounds – two for units, four for background environments and four for weather effects – will be incorporated to make the most of the experience.

It sounds interesting, but we'll keep our opinions in check until we've seen the 3D system in operation – hopefully prior to its scheduled Spring 2007 release date.